(en) black rosefed - CRIMINAL FIRE AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BRAZIL: THE ANSWER MUST COME FROM THE STREETS! (pt)

Date
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 08:40:24 +0300

We republish this statement by our comrades in Brazil in response the tragic and criminal
fire which erupted on the evening of Sunday, September 2, 2018 and destroyed much of the
National Museum of Brazil. The statement is by Resistência Popular Estudantil (Student
Popular Resistance) which describes itself as a collective of students organized to
struggle in the defense of a the autonomous student movement and which is classist[class
struggle in orientation], combative and built by the base. ---- By Resistência Popular
Estudantil - Rio de Janeiro ---- A fire has burned the first scientific Brazilian
institution, the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. As many know through through
social media and news, fossils and archives that survived thousands of years and
geological processes, now find themselves as ashes due to the economic war, that of
traditional neoliberalism, in which we live today.

There is no way yet to calculate the size of the loss to the scientific heritage of the
country. Besides the destruction of the oldest Latin-American human fossils the museum
holds an archive of more than 20 million items which is the fifth largest in the world.
The destruction also includes the source of materials for research about our history, with
one of the largest archives of Brazilian indigenous ethnology and linguistics, and about
our animals which includes the largest zoological archive of the Latin America. All of
that turned to ashes last night.

In additional to the fire, it is important to highlight the recurrence of fires in
buildings from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) community. There has
already been five fire outbreaks in less than four years. Obviously, these incidents, just
like the one in the National Museum, weren't by accident and do not fail to have a guilty
party.

In the year of the celebration of 200 years of the institution, the National Museum
couldn't survive to the largest crisis Brazil has experienced. A national laboratory for
the effects of crisis, the City of Rio de Janeiro shows another example of the future
people from above want for our country. A country where there is no guarantee of access to
education, health or culture for the ones who cannot afford it. A country that lives
without knowing its past, so it does not overcome and continues the slavery that chains
it. A country where the police state is normalized and those who "get out of line" has the
necessary answer for their silencing.

The consequences of the Constitutional Amendment 95/2016 (1) are already being felt. We,
the ones from below, are feeling on the skin the fire that the government lit two years
ago with the burning of our rights. Thus, we would like to emphasize that what happened
last night[the museum fire]was not an accident, but a consequence of the project from the
above to our people.

We, from the Student Popular Resistance of Rio de Janeiro, express our solidarity with all
the students, professors, technicians and workers that lost a huge part of their work,
just as the whole world lost a huge part of its history. As such, the necessity of
organization and going to the streets are more than evident. To fight against PEC 55 (2)
is to fight for the survival of our people, our history.

ONLY RADICALIZED STRUGGLE WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES!

AGAINST THE PEC 55, THERE WILL BE POPULAR RESISTANCE!

STRUGGLE, CREATE, BUILD POPULAR POWER!

Translation Notes
1. Any austerity measure, this amendment was proposed by right-wing President Michel Temer
who assumed office following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff of the PT (Workers Party).
The measure was approved in December 2016 and freezes government spending towards primary
expenses (education, health, security) for the next 20 years and limits increases only
towards the cost of inflation.